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Northeast port closings felt in Savannah

With Hurricane Sandy closing major deepwater ports from Virginia to New York, a domino effect has delays stretching up and down the coast and into the nation’s heartland.

“This storm has definitely disrupted shipping along the Eastern Seaboard,” said Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority.

“Already, we’ve had a number of vessels that were scheduled to be in port by today either delayed or rerouted,” he said. “Ultimately, this is going to affect trade — unfortunately in the middle of peak retail season.”

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and extensive flooding in the New York area, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey issued a press release Tuesday morning notifying users that all the Port Authority’s maritime facilities are closed until further notice.

In Baltimore, the Maryland Port Administration said its public marine terminals would remain closed Tuesday. After closing Monday, the Virginia Port Authority said its marine terminal would reopen Tuesday and start handling vessels at 7 p.m.

The northeastern U.S. ports supply 170 million U.S. and Canadian customers with cargo goods. Disruption to these ports is also expected to have a significant impact on supplies like food and oil to the region.

CSX Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp., the two main Eastern railroads, are telling customers to expect at least three days of traffic delays in the affected areas. For truckers, travel in the region will remain difficult, though some road restrictions are being eased as the storm passes through.

Truckers who got back on the road Tuesday were dealing with roadblocks and detours, as well as more rain, wind and snow.

Foltz said he doesn’t anticipate any problems with the increased vessel traffic expected once the storm clears and Northeast ports reopen.

“We have the capacity to handle the extra ships and will be available to help any neighboring ports as needed,” he said.